


Catch as Catch Can

by Evil_Little_Dog



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Canon - Manga, Community: fma_fic_contest, Community: fma_slashfest, Girl!Edward, Other, Post-Canon, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-16
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-03 18:53:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/384703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evil_Little_Dog/pseuds/Evil_Little_Dog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary:  Winry deserves a husband, kids, and a family.  Edie’s pretty sure she can’t give her anything like that.<br/>Prompt:  Any/Any (Any Canon): welcome embrace, falling back into their chest (or being pulled back into embrace, back to chest)<br/>Disclaimer:  Me =/= Arakawa, okay?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Kalirush for her edits.

_Content._

It was such a weird word, and one Edie never thought she’d use for herself, but these past two years in Resembool made her come to understand the meaning of the word. Granted, not all of it had been spent in their childhood home – she and Al took short trips to Dublith to visit Master Izumi, and to Rush Valley with Winry, where Al would disappear with that little pickpocket (Edie had decided early on that she really didn’t want to know what the hell the two of them got up to). 

It felt almost right to be here in Resembool, back where their family lived, where their parents were buried. And for that reason, the idea of leaving to go traveling was a long time coming. 

She and Al had talked a little about it, usually down at the river where Edie could skip rocks and Al could lie in the warm grass – what they’d like to do once Al was fully recovered. He wanted to go to Xing and study alkahestry. Edie couldn’t resist teasing him about the bean girl, and Al blushed and stammered, then turned the tables like he always did – “What about you and Winry?”

Edie didn’t blush (much), glaring at her brother instead. “What about me and Winry?” she managed to stammer out. 

Al rolled his eyes. “Edie,” he said, as patient as if he was talking to some dumb little kid, “everyone knows how you feel about her.”

Now Edie felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. “How I feel about her?” she half-shouted.

Al winced at the yell, but grinned slyly as he said, “Uh, huh.”

“I – I – she’s my friend!” Edie howled.

“Your friend.” Al stared out over the river. “You threatened to cut off Ling’s balls if he proposed to her again.”

“Well, yeah!” Edie clenched her hands into fists. “Winry could do better!” 

Al’s eyebrows rose. “Than a prince?” The flat statement hung between them for a few seconds before he went on. “Fuhrer Bradley made her your hostage.” 

“What was he going to do, use you?” Edie waved off that one.

“You scared off all those mechanics in Rush Valley,” Al said, rubbing his chin.

“She could do better than them, too,” Edie insisted. 

Al gave her a long look, folding his arms. “So, if Winry could do better, who do you think would be better for her? Someone like Colonel Mustang?”

Edie’s lip curled up. “The bastard?” she yelped. “Oh, hell, no! Someone like…I don’t know. Someone…someone good, who’d treat her right.” Her muscles didn’t seem to be able to hold her up any longer, and Edie found herself squatting on the bank of the river next to Al. “Like Brigadier General Hughes,” she said softly, then turned to look at her brother, “or you.” 

“Me?” Al wrinkled his nose. 

“Well, yeah,” Edie said, thinking she could get used to the idea, Al and Winry together. Al had wanted to marry Winry when they were kids anyway, so it wouldn’t take much for them to be in love, would it? Winry always said, “I love you guys.” That meant something, didn’t it? 

“Why me?” Al asked plaintively. 

“Well, you’re,” Edie’s jaw went slack for a split-second. Maybe her brain short-circuited. “You’re,” she flapped her hand at him. “You’re a guy!”

“Uh, huh?” 

What was Al, dense, or something? “Girls and guys get married and have babies,” Edie explained, as if Al was a little kid. “Together.”

Al stared at her for what felt like a long time before bursting out laughing. He fell back onto the thick grass, curling up on himself as he rolled from side to side. 

“Hey,” Edie said, eyes widening. When Al kept laughing, Edie poked at her brother. “Hey! Cut it out! Al!” 

He wheezed and gasped and wiped at the tears rolling down his cheeks. “Oh,” he sighed, “I needed that.” 

“You’re an ass!” Pushing at Al with her foot, Edie scowled at him. 

Al rolled out of reach, getting up. “You,” he said succinctly, “are an idiot.” When Edie gaped at him, he went on. “You like Winry. More than like Winry.”

“I,” Edie stuttered to a stop. 

“Uh, huh. Maybe you’d better think about that,” Al said, pointing at her. “And talk to Winry.” 

X X X

That was easier said than done, particularly for Edie. Sure, she and Al had sat the old hag and Winry down, and told them _almost_ everything that had happened during their travels, but there were things they didn’t say, either. Edie’d kept too many secrets since she was a little girl, when she and Al had come up with the idea of bringing their mother back from the dead with alchemy. There were still some secrets buried deep inside that Edie hadn’t even shared with Al. 

Edie’d thought the way she felt about Winry was one of those things, despite First Lieutenant Hawkeye’s question and Al’s and Hughes’s teasing. Sure, Winry was cute, and energetic, and the best automail mechanic in the world, but Edie had realized somewhere during their travels, maybe…maybe after Scar, or when she’d failed to tell Winry about Hughes’s death, though definitely before Briggs and Kimbley’s threats, that she loved Winry, and it wasn’t the way she loved Al, either. Al was her brother, Winry was…was Winry, and her own person, and just…well, Winry: not just an automail mechanic, but a pie maker, a best friend, a considerate person who cared a lot. And the way she took care of kids, well, Edie figured she’d want to be a mom some day. 

Edie had never thought about kids until she’d thought of Winry with kids, and that sent her down a strange path, one where she realized, maybe she wanted kids, too, but she couldn’t even imagine who she’d have kids with. Not someone like Ling, he was too much of a jerk, and Edie didn’t want to think about that stupid kiss Ling had given her that one night while they were traveling. Not someone like that bastard Mustang, oh, hell, no (though she couldn’t help but feel a little tingle when she thought about First Lieutenant Hawkeye, who was way too good for Colonel Shit). Hughes was too crazy, not to mention married, and that idiot Tringham was an asshole. There really wasn’t anyone she could even think of that she wanted to get that close to, except for Winry. 

And two girls couldn’t make babies, no matter what. 

“You’re thinking awfully hard.” 

Edie started at the sound of Winry’s voice, coming over her shoulder. “Uh, yeah,” she said. A flush warmed her cheeks while her stomach tightened around the blob of ice that somehow transmuted itself there. 

“About your trips?” She turned around to face Winry, seeing a faint, wistful smile before Winry glanced sideways, toward the window and the late afternoon sun. Before Edie could say anything, Winry beckoned. “Come on, let’s go for a walk. You can think and walk at the same time, can’t you?”

“Of course!” Edie snapped, and stumbled, nearly making herself a liar. Again. 

The sun cast their shadows in exaggerated lengths ahead of them. Winry walked along the road, her hands clasped behind her back. Edie thought if someone was just looking at their shadows, maybe they wouldn’t know she wasn’t a guy – Winry had all the curves. Her own body was more angular, and her breasts and hips were small. Edie’s preference for pants and shirts, rather than the skirts and dresses Winry liked, helped hide her sex that much more. When she’d worn that red coat, it almost completed her guise, at least until she’d started her monthly cycles. God, what a pain that was, since her body seemed to rebel against the idea of being fertile, and her periods only came once every two or three months, and almost always unexpectedly. 

“See?”

“Huh?” Edie jerked her head up, meeting Winry’s eyes. The fleeting thought that it was nice finally being taller than Winry crossed her mind. 

She teased, “You can walk and think at the same time!” 

“Nng!” Edie scowled at her, making Winry laugh. She had a nice laugh. 

“Stop sulking.” Winry poked Edie’s ribs with her elbow. 

“I’m not!” Edie shoved lightly at Winry’s shoulder. Winry squealed, shoving back harder, knocking Edie off-balance. “Hey!” Edie shouted, scrambling to regain her footing, but Winry took a few steps backward, her mouth open in a wide smile, her eyes shining. Giving Edie a quick once-over, Winry spun on the ball of her foot and took off running, leaping the ditch at the side of the road and climbing over the stone wall that led into the Coyle’s orchards. 

Edie gaped after her for a few seconds, then shouted, “I’m going to get you!” and tore after her. She hopped the ditch and vaulted the wall, catching a glimpse of blond hair as Winry ducked sideways through the trees. Damn it, what kind of game was she playing? Edie charged after her, the sweet smell of ripening fruit filling her lungs, the faint buzzing of bees in her ears, and Winry’s laughter leading her on. 

Winry was a strong girl – she had to be, working metal – but Edie knew how to run, and made up the distance pretty quickly. Glancing over her shoulder, Winry made an ‘o’ with her mouth at the sight of her. Edie flashed her teeth, triumphant, barely three meters behind and closing fast. Winry dodged down another line of trees and Edie cut the corner, her fingers nearly catching hold of the hem of Winry’s skirt. A wicked grin brightened her face as she put on a burst of speed, thundering up behind Winry. 

Her grasping fingers caught hold of Winry’s wrist and Edie dug in her heels, the sudden loss of forward motion acting as a brake against Winry. She let out a surprised yelp, nearly dragging free, but Edie wrapped her other arm around her upper body, dragging Winry back against her chest. Her breasts heaving, Winry grabbed Edie’s forearm with both hands, giving it a fitful tug. “Let go.” 

“Uh, uh. You wanted me to catch you,” Edie said, breathlessly, nearly in Winry’s ear. As soon as she said it, the realization was there, and Edie wondered if Winry really had wanted to be caught. Swallowing hard, Edie tried to keep from shuddering. She knew she had the upper hand right now, and she intended to make the best of it. 

Winry stiffened in her embrace. “So?” she asked, her voice high and tight. 

“So?” Edie mimicked. Under her forearm, she could feel how fast Winry’s heart was beating. She leaned her chin on Winry’s shoulder and sing-songed, “You wanted me to catch you, catch you.” 

“Shut up.” Winry slapped lightly at her forearm, the contact barely stinging. Edie could feel Winry’s back relaxing against her chest. It was kind of nice. And weird. And Edie realized it was getting a little weirder. Her - _down there_ \- felt like it was pulsing, and Winry’s ass rubbing against her wasn’t helping any. Winry took a deep breath and Edie nearly squeaked, feeling nipples rubbing against her arm. “What if I did want you to catch me? What are you going to do, now that you have?”

Her mind went blank at the implications, and Edie couldn’t think of anything at all. Dazed, she opened her mouth and closed it again, not even fighting when Winry turned around in her arms, and put her own around the back of Edie’s neck. Meeting her eyes, Winry rose slightly up on her toes, licked her lips - _oh,_ wow _, her lips_ \- and tilted her head to the side before kissing Edie. 

Dumbfounded, Edie clutched at Winry’s shoulders, not sure what the hell she should do. Winry’s lips felt like electricity, like an alchemic transformation, like the beginning of something absolutely amazing and she didn’t know what the next step should be. Winry seemed to know, though (and Edie wondered _how_ , then forgot that question when Winry took hold of her head and pushed it to an angle and kissed her again), and Edie was a fast learner. When Winry licked at the seam of her mouth, Edie opened it with a soft moan, wrapping her arms around Winry’s back as her tongue did amazing things inside Edie’s mouth. Her tongue retreated and Edie’s followed it, a little sloppy, maybe, but willing to be taught how to do things better. 

After a few minutes of kissing, and Edie congratulated herself that she did get better, if that humming sound Winry made was any indication, Winry pulled back, licking her lips. “See what happens if you catch me?” 

Nodding enthusiastically, Edie wondered if she should try kissing Winry, or maybe doing something else? Her mind whited out again at wondering what she could do; Edie knew what pleasuring herself meant, but to offer to do something like that to Winry filled her brain with static. 

“Edie?” 

She looked down, realizing Winry had somehow managed to get hold of one of her hands, and was kissing the tips of her fingers. Edie bit her lip to stifle a groan. Gently pulling her hand free, she cupped Winry’s cheek, tracing the rim of her ear and the earrings studding it. She leaned in to give Winry a kiss, feeling Winry’s hands moving down her sides, then sweeping back up. Her eyes snapped open at the sensation of Winry plucking at her nipples. “G-guh!” 

“Too soon?” Winry asked, practical, letting her hands rest over Edie’s breasts without the pain-pleasure complicating it, and Edie let out a breath. “Too soon,” Winry answered herself, and moved her hands up to Edie’s shoulders. 

“I-it felt…nice,” Edie protested shakily. “But.”

“But what?” Winry cocked her head and something glittered in her eyes.

Edie knew she had to answer quickly, before Winry got the wrong idea. “You, me. I mean…we’re both girls.”

“And?” Her hands felt like air on Edie’s shoulders. Edie grabbed for them, before Winry could pull away.

“And…men and women get married, and have babies, and raise a family together,” she said, all in a rush, still not letting go of Winry’s hands, even when she tugged.

“So you don’t…what, Edie?” Hurt stamped itself on Winry’s face, and her mouth twisted. 

“I…I…can’t give you babies,” Edie said, rubbing her thumbs over Winry’s palm. 

“Do…you want to?” 

Winry’s question rocked Edie down to her core. “I…” She stared into those blue eyes she’d known forever. “I…wish I could. I wish…I could give you everything.” 

A smile curled Winry’s mouth and she pulled her hands free, hugging Edie tight. “You can.”

Edie sighed, folding Winry in her arms. Maybe she could, even without being an alchemist any more. Maybe. But for now, this was good. 

The sharp poke made her yip. “Winry!”

“Stop thinking so hard,” Winry scolded, “we’ll be okay.” And she rose up on her toes again to kiss Edie, soft and slow, the texture and taste and marvel of it leaving Edie all but breathless. 

“How,” she said, when she caught her breath, clinging to Winry to keep from falling. Edie didn’t remember when her back wound up against the bark of a tree, but it was a welcome embrace, enough to keep her from falling to the ground – Winry propping her up in front, the tree behind. “How do you know?”

Winry raised her fist. “One,” her pointer finger came out, “Al loves both of us, and wants us to be happy. If ‘together’ makes us happy, he’ll fight anyone who says otherwise. Two,” her second finger popped up, “Granny’s known forever.” Cheeks pinking, Winry muttered under her breath, “She’s probably got a bet with everyone in town about us.” 

“What?” Edie yelped. 

Winry ignored her. “Three, Major Armstrong and Mr. Garfiel are happy, aren’t they? No one says anything to them.” 

“Winry, they’re _massive_ and _scary_.” 

“So? You’re scary.” Winry pursed her lips. “Okay, you don’t scare me, but you scare other people, don’t you?”

Edie let her head fall back against the tree trunk and groaned. “We’re doomed.” 

“We’re not doomed, Edie Elric!” Hands on her hips, Winry glared at her. “We’re just different. And that’s not a bad thing. Not everyone should be alike. Not everyone will be alike.” She poked Edie in the center of her chest with a stiff forefinger. “So we’ll be okay.”

What could she say to that? If Edie had doubted, she’d never have tried to bring back her mother. She’d never have been able to use automail in less than three years. She’d have given up trying to get Al’s body back. She’d have died in Baschool, on that piece of metal, or while fighting Father, or she and Al might not have left Truth’s hall as whole as they were. 

Taking Winry’s hand, Edie smoothed it between her own. She raised it up to kiss Winry’s knuckles, thinking she was really cute when she blushed. Edie wondered just how far down that blush might go. Well, there was time to find that out. Maybe not right now, but if Winry’d wanted to be caught, she’d done a damned good job of catching Edie, too. 

“I believe you,” she said, and pulled Winry into a hug that Winry turned into a kiss, as well. 

Content. Yeah, Edie thought, she could get used to this.


	2. Have This Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Al’s nap is interrupted by Winry’s trying to convince Edie to dance with her.   
> Disclaimer: Arakawa owns all, and Bones just pays her rent. I’m riding on a feather.

Granny’d left the radio on when she’d gotten the call, and Alphonse hadn’t bothered to get up and turn it off. He was listening to it, sort of; the music made for a pleasant background noise, light and comforting on a warm summer’s evening. He hadn’t meant to drop off, but it’d been a long day, working in the garden and then helping pick apples from the Coyle’s orchid, and the book slipped out of his hands and onto his stomach before he realized it.

He knew he should just get up and go to bed, but it seemed early yet, the house filled with that peculiar lavender hue he associated with dusk; and the breeze that stirred the curtains hit the couch just right. It was comfortable here, and the music let him dawdle and daydream without really actually sleeping. Or so he could tell himself. 

A soft giggle caught his attention, not fitting in with the music playing, and Al slit open one eye. 

His sister was standing with Winry in the center of the floor. Maybe ‘standing’ wasn’t a good description. Edie was stiff as a tent pole, redder than that coat she’d given up, and Winry was grinning up at her, pressed kind of close, and positioning Edie’s hands. “You can fight,” Winry whispered, “I’ve watched you.” 

“Fighting’s different!” Edie snapped back. “It’s…it’s not dancing!” 

“Kinetic muscle memory, Edie! If you can fight, you can dance.” Winry’s eyes narrowed in that particularly dangerous way they had, and Alphonse decided he’d keep pretending to be asleep, so as not to be dragged into this. 

“It’s still different!” Edie let Winry move her hands around until she was satisfied, grumbling the entire time. 

Winry’s kiss silenced Edie, leaving her brighter red, and Alphonse fought to keep from smiling.


	3. Whatever Winry Wants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Winry and Edie want Al to help them out with something personal.  
> Disclaimer: Arakawa =/= me.

Alphonse’s cheeks warmed. “You want me to what?” he yelped.

Edie scowled at him. “You heard me the first time,” she said, folding her arms, her own face scarlet. Next to her, Winry was only slightly flushed. 

“Al, please?” 

“But,” he sputtered, “you want me to,” he waved a hand at Winry’s body, “with you?”

“No!” Edie snapped, half-leaning in front of her wife. 

“Edie,” Winry put her hand on Edie’s shoulder, gently moving her back. “This is Al, remember? Your brother?” She tilted her head and whispered into Edie’s ear, something about how unattractive jealousy was, if Alphonse had to make a guess, and Edie blustered and blew but settled down, anyway. “We talked it over, Al, and we both want a baby. But,” Winry gave him a lopsided smile, “we need someone to supply the sperm.” 

“And since you’re my brother,” Edie said, “we’d have a baby that has both Winry’s and my genetics.” 

“And you’d be okay with donating, right?” 

There it was, that hopeful gleam in Winry’s eye, the look that hid the determination oh-so-well. Alphonse blew out his cheeks, looking between the two women. “You’ve thought this over, right? You know what this means?” 

“Of course we know what it means!” Edie growled, then, just like that, her anger blew over. “We’ve been talking about it for months, Al. Whether we should…if the time was right, how it’s going to change us.” Winry took her hand, and Edie relaxed that much more. 

“So, Al, will you?” Winry asked.

They gazed at him, perfectly matched in their breathless waiting. Alphonse knew he couldn’t deny them. “Yeah, okay,” he said, “but you have to supply the dirty books!”

Edie gaped, but Winry’s smile warned Alphonse she’d expected something similar. “Don’t worry,” she said, “we’ll borrow Granny’s.”


	4. Makin' Babies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Edie and Winry want a baby. Al’s not so sure of his part in this.   
> Disclaimer: Arakawa probably wouldn’t approve of me changing Ed’s sex, so, no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the LJ community, FMA_Fic_Contest, for the prompt "Gender Bender".

Alphonse closed the door to the den, making Edie start. “What?” she asked, and he couldn’t tell if she was blushing or worried from the expression on her face. 

“We need to talk,” Alphonse said, pausing next to one of the comfortable chairs. It really was a nice room, he thought absently; books on alchemy, medical procedures and automail lining the walls, as well as a few texts translated from the Xingese, and books on Creta, Briggs and Drachma, as well as history books on Xerxes, one of them bearing their father’s name and very rare, as less than ten editions had ever been printed. 

Edie set down the notes she was working on, frowning slightly. “What about?” She turned in her chair to watch Alphonse as he paced. 

“What we talked about a while back.” Damn it, this was harder than he expected. 

The corner of her mouth tugged down. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Al,” Edie said dryly. 

“Children. More specifically,” he added, just as dry, “yours and Winry’s. And the possibility of using my sperm to impregnate Winry.” 

Having the grace to flush, Edie slumped back in her chair. “Oh,” she said, and now she glanced sideways. 

“Oh.” Alphonse began to pace. “Oh.”

“What do you want me to say?” Edie grumbled, folding her arms. 

“I don’t know, maybe…tell me why this is a good idea?”

Edie blushed darker. “It’s not like we’re asking you to-to have sex with Winry!”

“No, but.” Alphonse stopped, facing her. “What can I expect?” Spreading his hands, he went on. “I mean, if it doesn’t take the first time, are we going to try again? And what about you?”

“What about me?” Edie asked, visibly tensing.

Alphonse clarified. “Well, what if you decide _you_ want to have a baby? Who will you get for the father?”

Edie snorted. “I don’t want to have a baby.” Her expression turned inward and she dropped a hand over her stomach, rubbing it fitfully. “I dressed like a guy for a reason, Al,” she muttered. “It wasn’t just because it was easier to be a boy traveling the countryside. Granny told me that guys would hit on me, or worse.” Her eyes hardened. “I didn’t want that…I still don’t.” 

Alphonse couldn’t resist. “Not even from Ling?” 

A blush exploded on her face. “No! What makes you think that damned prince – absolutely not!” 

“Uh, huh.” The grin spread. “Does Winry know?” 

“Winry knows everything.” Edie folded her arms again, her lower lip pushing out. Uncomfortable with it, yeah, but Alphonse wasn’t going to just stop pushing. He told himself it wasn’t to give Edie a taste of her own medicine. 

“Everything?” 

“Yes, damn it!” Flinging herself out of her chair, Edie paced the short distance of the room. “I even told her about Ling kissing me and how he offered to take us away to Xing.” She muttered, half under her breath, “I think he just likes blonds, because he meant you, too.” Her hand swung toward Alphonse. “Said something about having a set.”

Alphonse thought, after hanging out in Rush Valley with Mr. Garfiel, as well as here with Pinako Rockbell, he was immune to blushing. That comment proved him wrong, and he could tell from Edie’s wicked smirk that she caught his reaction. “That’s neither here nor there,” Alphonse argued. “Unless you’re taking Ling up on his offer?”

“Hell, no!” Edie slapped the back of one of the chairs. “Not for any reason,” she added darkly, and pointed at Alphonse. “If you want to go to Xing and take up with that little bean girl, that’s your business. I’m not interested in anyone but Winry.” 

“Okay, so you don’t want kids,” Alphonse soothed, holding up his hands to keep his sister from actually attacking. “Except with Winry.” When Edie jerked her head in a nod, he went on. “And you want my sperm so the baby will look like both of you.” 

“Yes,” Edie said, still suspicious. “What’s going on, Al? You were okay with this when we talked about it before!”

“So, what are my rights to the child?” There. Finally. He’d asked.

Edie cocked her head, frowning. “Your rights?” 

“The baby will be mine, too, well, by blood.” Alphonse sat down finally. “By my sperm.” 

“Yeah.” Edie twitched and took her chair again. “Well, we want to raise the baby as ours,” she said slowly, “when it gets old enough to understand, we’ll explain you’re the dad. Biologically.” She glanced at Alphonse. “And if anything happens that we wouldn’t be able to take care of the baby, of course you’d be the one to get him or her. If something happens to me…I’d want you to take care of Winry.” She twisted the ring on her finger, the one Winry had placed there when they’d made their pledges to each other. “And the baby. I’d expect you to keep them safe.” Her steady gaze held Alphonse’s, showing just how serious she was about it. 

“Of course,” Alphonse said. “You know.” 

“Yeah.” Edie nodded, her gaze dropping finally to the desktop, to her hands on top of it, to the ring she wore. “So, Al, do you want to help us, or not? You can say ‘no’.” She looked through her bangs at him. 

Alphonse sighed. “Fine,” he said, “I’ll do it.” 

The grin swept over Edie’s face. “Thanks, Al.” She flung herself out of her chair. “I’m going to tell Winry!” Hesitating before she left the den, she pointed at Alphonse, “You’re the best baby brother, ever!” and pounded out of the room. 

Staring after his sister, Alphonse clapped his forehead. “Oh, god, what did I agree to?” Of course, he knew the answer and now, for sure, he couldn’t back out. Blowing out a puff of air, he muttered, “This better work the first time. I’m not doing this again.” But that was probably a lie. Stupid sister and her wife, wanting babies.


	5. Clothes Make the Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Edie hates the idea of dressing up.  
> Disclaimer: This is Arakawa's world. I just play in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the LJ Community, FMA_Slashfest, for the prompt, "Winry/Female!Ed (Any Canon) Anything sexy."

“I can’t believe we have to dress up for this,” Edie groused. 

Winry gave her a look. “Did you think you could wear that old red jacket of yours to the Fuhrer’s inauguration?”

“Hell, yeah! It’d add some color to the ceremony. Mustang’d probably shit if I did.” Edie rubbed her chin, obviously contemplating the idea. 

“That jacket doesn’t fit you any more,” Winry reminded her. Hopefully. 

“Bet Al’d transmute it for me.” The gleam in her eyes let Winry know that Edie wasn’t only thinking about the idea, she thought it was a good one. 

Oh, god. “Al’s not transmuting your old jacket!” 

“He would if I asked him!” 

Winry shook her head. “He won’t if I ask him not to.” 

Edie glared at her, her eyes narrowing. “You wouldn’t.” 

“I would.” Winry glared right back. “Besides, I already picked out what you should wear.” When Edie groaned, she went on. “And what I’m going to wear. And I think you’ll like both of them.” Glower melting away into a wicked grin, Winry spun on her heel, leaving the room. She made sure to roll her hips the way that always caught Edie’s eye, and sure enough, it didn’t take long before Edie followed her into their bedroom. 

“Winry?” 

Already behind the dressing screen, her dress draped over the top of it, she’d tossed her clothing on the floor where Edie couldn’t miss it. “Yes?”

“Wha…” There was a soft rustle and Winry peered through the decorative grating at the top of the screen to see Edie in the doorway, her cheeks flushed. “I can’t wear that!” 

“Yes, you can.” Winry pulled the corset on, wriggling to get it to move into place. “If I’m wearing this.” She stepped out from behind the screen, waiting for Edie to notice. 

“That’s – that’s - ” Edie floundered to a stop, her mouth dropping open at the sight of Winry. “What is that?” 

“A corset,” Winry said. “So I can fit into my dress.” She walked to their bed, leaning her hands against the footboard post. “It needs to be tightened,” she said over her shoulder, “want to pull the strings?” 

Edie swallowed loudly, but came closer, wrapping the strings around her fingers. “You…you’ll tell me if it’s too tight, right?” 

“Mmhmmm.” Tossing her hair so it was out of the way, Winry grinned at Edie. “I’m ready.” She could just see Edie’s reflection in the mirror, and loved how she studied the corset back before giving an experimental tug on the strings. “You have to start from the top, Edie, not from the bottom…like tightening a pair of boots.”

“Yeah, okay,” Edie said, and her cool fingers brushed the top of the corset and Winry’s bare back, making her shiver,. She began tugging the strings carefully and Winry had to snort. “What?”

“You can pull harder than tha-aack!” Winry gasped, grabbing the bed post and hanging on. “Not that tight!” 

Edie’s reflection grinned at her, though she loosened the corset at the top a bit. As she continued pulling the strings, the corset forced Winry’s spine to stiffen. The leather and bone contraption embraced her torso, and she couldn’t take a deep breath, but when she turned around after Edie tied the strings off, the expression on Edie’s face made it completely worth it. “You can’t wear that to the Inauguration, Winry!”

“Why not?” She spun in front of the mirror, stopping to face her reflection. Her breasts looked huge in the mirror, the corset accentuating them and emphasizing the natural curves of her torso. 

“Because! You’ll look – I mean – gah!” Edie slapped her hands on the dresser. “You’re too pretty!” 

“Too pretty?” she asked quietly. Maybe too quietly. 

“I mean,” Edie backpedaled, “Everyone’s going to want you! I’ll spend all night dragging men off of you!” 

Winry moved Edie’s arm out of the way so she could slide between the dresser and her lover. “Are you sure that’s the only reason?” Lacing her hands behind Edie’s neck, she sucked Edie’s lower lip into her mouth. 

She pulled back, her lip leaving Winry’s mouth with a ‘pop!’ “That’s not the only reason.” Edie grumbled, “They don’t need to know how big your boobs are, for one thing.” 

“Are you sure?” Winry thrust them at her, grinning when Edie’s eyes dropped. 

She jerked them up again, her cheeks darkening. “Yes!” 

Winry looped her legs around Edie, crossing her ankles in the small of her back. “Positive?” 

“Winry,” Edie growled, though her gaze darted down and back up. She braced one hand on the dresser, and used the other to try to untangle Winry’s legs from behind her back. “What do you think you’re doing?”

She arched her back just so, her nipples popping free of the corset. “I think you know.” Freed from the confining leather, they stiffened, rosy and sharp. Edie bent her neck so she could lip one of those nipples into her mouth. Legs tightening reflexively around Edie’s hips, Winry let out a soft moan that ended in a whine when Edie straightened. “Why’d you stop?”

“You’re a tease,” Edie told her, tapping her on the end of the nose. “And now’s not the time for that.” 

Winry pouted but unwound her legs from Edie’s waist, letting her feet touch the floor again. “So, when is the time for that?” 

Going to the bed, Edie picked up the dress Winry’d laid out for her. She held it up experimentally, shaking her head. “Mustang really is going to shit.” 

“So he’ll see you as a woman for once.” Winry scowled at a sudden thought. “Maybe you shouldn’t wear that dress.” 

Edie danced it in front of her. “Afraid he’d take me away from you?” 

Making a rude noise, Winry said, “I’d be more worried about Riza. Or Colonel Armstrong’s sister.” 

“Hell no, Armstrong would bite off my head after she was finished,” Edie snapped, though her hand came up to rub her chin. “But Hawkeye.” Her gaze drifted to Winry, making her frown. 

“What are you thinking?” 

Edie didn’t give her time to react, grabbing her and flinging her onto the bed. Leaping on top of Winry, she kissed her hard, her hands capturing her face, holding Winry still. When she broke off, she grinned, running her thumbs over Winry’s cheekbones. 

“What?” Winry asked, trying to think past that kiss and its implications. 

“Just wondering if we can talk Hawkeye into giving you one of her old uniforms,” Edie said, her grin widening. 

“If you have fantasies about Riza,” Winry felt Edie stiffen slightly, though she didn’t drop her hands from Winry’s face. She wriggled underneath her, reaching down and grabbing Edie’s ass to make her squeak, “you’d better share them with me.”


	6. The Way He Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy's making it hard to leave the military.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Aki, 'cause she likes this 'verse.

“So, you’re really doing it?” 

Edie rocked the chair back on two legs. “What do you mean?” 

“Opting out of the military.” Roy Mustang tapped a pen against the blotter on his desk. 

She couldn’t help but look at his hands, but jerked her eyes up a second later. “Yeah. I mean, I’m not an alchemist any more. And I only joined to find a way to get Al’s body back. He has it now.” 

“What about your leg?”

Edie dropped the chair to the floor with a thump. “A lot of other people have it worse than me.” Tapping the port through her pants, she wondered what Winry would think, of her coming home with a flesh arm. Wondered why thinking about it made her stomach turn flip flops. Would Winry hate it? Or would she be angry that Edie didn’t have both flesh limbs back? “I’m satisfied.” 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t want to stay? The way Amestris is right now, you, and Alphonse, could be very beneficial to the country, not to mention its people.” 

“To you, you mean,” Edie sneered, though she couldn’t help the curiosity welling up in her. What sort of soldier could she be, not being an alchemist any more? 

Mustang’s mouth curled slightly. “I cannot say that it would be a feather in my cap, having both you and Alphonse under my command. If he’d be willing to join the military as a State Alchemist, that is.”

“He’s going to Xing.” Not immediately, no. But Edie’d seen the way her brother stared after the bean girl. “And that’s after we take some time off.” She watched as the bastard set his pen down, parallel to the top of the blotter. His fingers swept lightly over the desktop, and Edie caught sight of a scar on the back of one of his hands. She focused on that scar, recognizing the faint lines as Mustang’s transmutation circle. Wondering if he needed a transmutation circle any more, now that he’d seen Truth, whether he’d wanted to or not. 

Her throat moved as she swallowed. Mustang could do alchemy without a circle, and she couldn’t do alchemy at all, any more. A big hole hung in her heart, where her alchemy used to be. What did she have to offer the military? Why would Mustang want her to stay in? Sure, her reputation – but that was as a military dog, not as a soldier. 

“Edith.” 

Her shoulders twitched. Her fucking useless _father_ called her by that name, him, and Mustang. Except Mustang made it sound decent. Almost pretty. 

“Are you listening to me?” 

Edie jerked her chin to indicate she was, but kept her eyes focused on his fingertips. 

“There are many positions in the military someone of your capabilities could hold.” Had to be the bastard’s voice. Stupid, but the way Mustang talked right now, Edie could almost see it; a pretty picture in her head. Maybe she could go into Investigations, take over where Hughes left off; work with Major Armstrong. Or revamp the way alchemy was used by the military. She watched Mustang’s fingers sweep back and forth slowly over the blotter as he went on. “You aren’t just an alchemist. You have other qualities – you think on your feet; you have the ability to charm people from all walks of life.” 

Edie shrugged, not sure about that. There were all those people in Rush Valley who hated her for breaking everything in sight when she was trying to chase down Paninya, and again in that fight with Lan Fan. Even with repairs, they didn’t trust her not to wreck everything again. 

“Edith.” 

This time, she raised her eyes, meeting his. He held her gaze with his own, and he said something, she wasn’t sure what. Hypnotic, that was it. When he wasn’t yelling at her or being a sarcastic bitch, Mustang had a mesmerizing voice. Edie understood why some people might find him handsome, but he wasn’t what she wanted. 

And now that Al had his body back, the military wasn’t what she wanted, either. 

Shaking her head, Edie broke the spell Mustang wove. “Thanks for the job offer, but I made a promise to someone. I think it’s time I kept it.” She slid her discharge papers across the desk. Tapping her fingers on the case of her pocket watch, Edie pulled it out of her pocket, looking at the transmutation circle on it. “Here.” She laid the watch on top of the papers. 

Mustang pressed the tips of his fingers on the papers, pulling them closer to him. “You’re sure?” he asked, capturing Edie’s gaze again. 

She got to her feet, giving Mustang a lazy, toothy grin. “Positive.” Turning on her heel, she started for the door, waving her skinny right hand over her shoulder. 

“Oi. Fullmetal.” 

Edie hesitated, her hand on the door knob. “Yeah?” 

Mustang templed his fingers together, staring at her over them. “You owe me money.” 

She snorted. “You’ll get it back when you make Fuhrer, bastard. Not before.” Opening the door, she slipped through. Her smile broadened as she left Mustang’s office. 

Alphonse waited at the bottom of the stairs of the military H.Q. building, using his crutches to push himself to his feet. “How did it go?” 

Edie clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m a free woman.” 

“Finally.” Alphonse grinned. “Let’s go home.” 

Grinning back, Edie said, “Yeah. Let’s go.”


End file.
